Florida Senate votes to limit access to police camera videos

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Amid an ongoing national debate about police tactics, Florida may soon place limits on who is allowed to access video taken by body cameras worn by law enforcement officers.

The Florida Senate on Wednesday voted 36-2 for a bill that would keep confidential police videos that are shot in a house, a health care facility or any place that a “reasonable person would expect to be private.”

Supporters of the measure contend that placing some level of restrictions on who could have access to videos recorded by police officers might encourage more agencies to require their officers to use them. They also said it would guarantee the privacy rights of those caught on video.

There has been a call to have more police use body cameras as a way to hold officers accountable. Earlier this month, a police officer in South Carolina was arrested on murder charges after a bystander’s video showed the officer shooting a man as he ran away.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida blasted the Senate for passing the bill, calling it a “huge step backwards for police accountability.”

“Police body cameras can be a win-win for both police and the communities they serve, but only when they strike a delicate balance that protects privacy while also providing a record of police activity,” ACLU of Florida public policy director Michelle Richardson said in a statement. “The bill the Senate passed today fails to strike that balance.”

Bill sponsor Sen. Chris Smith contends that critics, including open-government advocates, don’t understand what the bill actually does.

The Fort Lauderdale Democrat pointed out that someone caught on video interacting with police would have the right to request a copy of the video. Relatives and people who live in the same house could also ask for the video to be released.

“The ACLU and all these other groups are treating like it we are hiding the video forever and no one can ever see it,” Smith said. “If the police came in your house and they smacked you around and beat you up, why the hell wouldn’t you release the video?”

It’s not clear whether the Florida House will pass the bill because no similar measure is moving in that chamber. The House instead is moving a separate bill that would require law-enforcement agencies to follow a handful of guidelines if they chose to require officers to wear body cameras.